@#$%^&! lights. Glass Fresnel dome lens. Countersunk into aluminum housing. No way to do a tight 90 degrees (1/32") with a knife.I need to DISSOLVE the blue silicone sealant someone so unwisely sealed the lens with. It's a counter-clockwise turn to unlatch the lens from the aluminum housing.Something hands-on proven to dissolve or make junk-gummy the silicone sealant.I can pour liquid through a tiny (wire-entry) channel and into the chip chamber. The chip is about 20% of the wattage I want out of these turkeys so if the chemical eats the LED, T.S.What's been (hand's-on-experience) proven to work? If it takes a week to dissolve the snot too bad - it's better than nothing.And yes, it's worth it. The lamps cost almost $400 ea. new. They're going to get a kick-in-the-butt lumen output, wise.(I'm heading to the barn until mid-morning, Monday :) )

Dissolve cured silicone? There's nothing off the shelf you'll find.What's the rest of the lamp made out of, any plastic parts? I think heat would be your best tool of attack, not all silicones are designed for high temperature, you might melt it or soften its grip enough that it lets you remove the lens.Silicone caulk is a polymer chain of silicon and oxygen with some proprietary magic compounds thrown in for good measure. Those elements are pretty darn durable.The great Google reveals a witches brew of xylene, toluene, sulphuric acid and other dandy compounds... chemicals that I would not want to mess with.

In my young and broke days, I had a radiator leak in my 71 Camaro.I had no money but I did have a partial tube of silicone. It actually worked! It never leaked again, and that was in Phoenix AZ where it gets HOT!. I sold that car years later to my younger brother who ran it a few more years till it caught fire and burned up... But that radiator was then sold when he parted the car out... For all I know, it may still be working fine in another car.

No personal experience here, but I've read comments elsewhere that acetone will clean up the gummy residue of silicone. So if you fill the thing with acetone, I'd guess it could loosen the bond enough to let you unscrew the lens and then scrape off the rest of the bead. Other folks have used De-Solv-It, contractor grade version. Of course, I don't know if the solvent would mess up the lens.

Hrmm, I looked up the MSDS for De Solv It "Contractor Grade". It contains petroleum distillates (a light oil) and ether (organic solvent). It's not going to touch cured silicone, but it might get into the space between the silicone and the aluminum housing, loosening the grip enough to break it free.Could try a generous application of WD-40 or other penetrating oil of your choosing.

I might be temped to try baking soda blasting to abrade the silicone away. I think baking soda would be sufficiently gentle to be unlikely to cloud glass, though it might attack plastic if that's what the housing is made of. Then again, if plastic, most any chemical (and there really isn't much) that would attack silicone would most likely attack the plastic too.

Dissolving Silicone Sealer? | Good Sam Community

mike-s
Explorer
Sep 18, 2016
A Sawzall will quickly "dissove" silicone. And with less damage than any chemical which would do the same.
Ductape
Explorer
Sep 18, 2016
Mckanica silicon remover works well, I used it for the exact same application.

It's a gel, you can't pour it.
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Sep 18, 2016
To find a dristributor try this link: http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/DistributorFinder/Default.aspx?prod_id=04089120&prod_ids=MATL&country=MEX&language=E

From the drop down on that page for michoacan I see this:

Distribution Company
Dow Corning de México S.A. de C.V.

Contact Information
Direct Dial: 52 55 5955-1313
Toll Free: 01 800 062 0981

DOW CORNING DE MÉXICO S.A. DE C.V.
BLVD MANUEL ÁVILA CAMACHO 138 PISO2
COL. LOMAS DE CHAPULTEPEC
DEL. MIGUEL HIDALGO
11000 MÉXICO,
DISTRITO FEDERAL
MEXICO
Gene_Ginny
Explorer
Sep 18, 2016
No personal experience but I found this from Dow Corning. I posted a fragment from the 2 page PDF so you would not have to wait all day for the PDF to load.

http://www.dowcorning.com/content/publishedlit/26-1880.pdf

Remove cured silicone with Dow Corning® DS-2025 Silicone Cleaning Solvent. Many traditional solvents simply swell cured silicone; they do not actually dissolve it, making the cured silicone difficult to remove. Dow Corning DS-2025 Silicone Cleaning Solvent, on the other hand, rapidly digests and dissolves even completely cured silicone. Plus, the product can be reused multiple times, enhancing its cost-effectiveness.
DrewE
Explorer II
Sep 18, 2016
I might be temped to try baking soda blasting to abrade the silicone away. I think baking soda would be sufficiently gentle to be unlikely to cloud glass, though it might attack plastic if that's what the housing is made of. Then again, if plastic, most any chemical (and there really isn't much) that would attack silicone would most likely attack the plastic too.
GordonThree
Explorer
Sep 17, 2016
Hrmm, I looked up the MSDS for De Solv It "Contractor Grade". It contains petroleum distillates (a light oil) and ether (organic solvent). It's not going to touch cured silicone, but it might get into the space between the silicone and the aluminum housing, loosening the grip enough to break it free.

Could try a generous application of WD-40 or other penetrating oil of your choosing.
rexlion
Explorer
Sep 17, 2016
No personal experience here, but I've read comments elsewhere that acetone will clean up the gummy residue of silicone. So if you fill the thing with acetone, I'd guess it could loosen the bond enough to let you unscrew the lens and then scrape off the rest of the bead. Other folks have used De-Solv-It, contractor grade version. Of course, I don't know if the solvent would mess up the lens.
Huntindog
Explorer
Sep 17, 2016
In my young and broke days, I had a radiator leak in my 71 Camaro.
I had no money but I did have a partial tube of silicone. It actually worked! It never leaked again, and that was in Phoenix AZ where it gets HOT!. I sold that car years later to my younger brother who ran it a few more years till it caught fire and burned up... But that radiator was then sold when he parted the car out... For all I know, it may still be working fine in another car.
GordonThree
Explorer
Sep 17, 2016
Dissolve cured silicone? There's nothing off the shelf you'll find.

What's the rest of the lamp made out of, any plastic parts? I think heat would be your best tool of attack, not all silicones are designed for high temperature, you might melt it or soften its grip enough that it lets you remove the lens.

Silicone caulk is a polymer chain of silicon and oxygen with some proprietary magic compounds thrown in for good measure. Those elements are pretty darn durable.

The great Google reveals a witches brew of xylene, toluene, sulphuric acid and other dandy compounds... chemicals that I would not want to mess with.

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